Adjustable lighting fixture



July 15, 1924.

P. J. COUSINS ADJUSTABLE LIGHT ING FIXTURE- Filed Feb. 4, 1922 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY- Patented July 15, 1924.

PHTLIP J. COUSINS, OF BROOKLYN, YORK.

ADJUSTABLE I LIGHTING FIXTURE.

Application filed February 4,1922. Serial No. 534,009.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PHILIP J. CoUsiNs, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Brooklyn, New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Adjustable Lighting Fixtures, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in lighting fixtures and refers particularly to means whereby the height of the globe or dome of a lighting fixture maybe varied.

The objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent fromthe following de scription when read in connection with the drawings in which 7 Fig. 1 is a side elevation illustrating one embodiment of my improved adjustable fixture;

Fig. 2 is awview in plan taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; r I

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail in longitudinal section showing one end of a supporting pendant;

Figs. 4; and 5 are details illustrating one form of locking mechanism for holding the lamp in a desired position of adjustment;

Fig. 6 is a detail showing an alternative form of look.

In the drawings 10 represents a dome or globe which is normally supported by chains 12 secured at one end to hooks 14 which are fastened to the globe. At their upper .ends the chains 12 engage hooks 16 formed on the lower end of a pendant 18. This pendant includes a hollow casing 20 carried on the end of a tube 22 which in turn is secured to a crow-foot fitting 24 fastened to a suitable support such as a ceiling beam 26. Within the casing 20 is located a bracket 28 which carries a wheel 30 having ratchet teeth 32 formed on one face thereof as shown clearly in Figs. 4 and 5. A spring pressed pawl 34 is arranged to engage the ratchet teeth 32 to hold the wheel in fixed position. The wheel is provided with sprocket teeth 36 adapted to engage the links of a chain 38 or other flexible adjusting member. The wheel, ratchet and pawl form a locking means whereby the dome or globe 10 can, be held in different elevated positions.

At its lower end the chain 38 has secured thereto three substantially radially extending portions 40, the outer ends of which are secured to rings or hooks 42 carried by the globe, The rings or hooks 42 may be integral with hooks 14 which engage the chain 12. A cluster of incandescent lamps 44: are carried by a central fitting 46 which fitting is suspended from the chain 38. The current is supplied to the lamps by a suitable wire 48 which is usually woven in an out between the links of the chain 12. This wire passes through a suitable opening '50 in the casing 20 and through the tube '22 and is connected witha'lighting circuit in the usual way.

The wheel 30 is arranged to be moved longitudnally on a fixed shaft 52 carried by the bracket 28, and a spring 54: on theshaft tends to normally press the wheel .to the right as shown in Fig. 5 so that the ratchet teeth 32 thereof are in position to engage the pawl 34. The arrangement issuch that a sidewise movement of the free end 39 of the chain 38 will slide the wheel along the shaft 52 so that the ratchet teeth will be disconnected from the pawl thus permitting the wheel to be turned in a direction contrary to that allowed by the pawl so asto permit the vertical adjustment of the globe and lamp in an up and down direction. An opening 21 is formed in the casing 20 through which the chain 39 passes and is of such width that the necessary movement can be given to the wheel without the chain striking the walls of the casing. Instead of using a laterally moving wheel 30, I may provide a clutch wheel 30 as shown in Fig. 6 injwhich case the globe 10 and lamps will be suspended by a flexible cable 38 which is trained over the wheel as shown. The wheel 30 is formed with flanges 31, one of which is cut away as at 33 to form an incline or cam surface 35. The bracket 28 which carries this wheel is formed with a lug 29 and the arrangement is such that when the free end 39 of the cable is pulled to one side this cable can be wedged between the cam surface 35 and the lug 29 so as to grip the cable and positivelyhold the globe in its adjusted position. When it is desired to raise or lower the globe the free end 39 is pulled so as to free the cable from the bite of the cam. The end 39 is then moved laterally in substantial alignment with the portion 38 of the cable and the globe adjusted approximately to the desired position, and by shifting the end 39 laterallyin the direction of the lug 29 and allowing the globe to drop a short distance the wheel 30 will again be turned $9 @S 9 bring the cam portion 35 to position to jam the cable against the lug 29 and thus lock the globe in its adjusted position.

From the above it will be seen that my improved lighting fixtureincludes chains 12 from which the dome or globe is supported in its normal position, and is provided with supplementary means in the form of a chain 38 and the locking device whereby the globe may be raised merely by pulling on the chain 39, and the pawl 34 will lock the wheel 30 and therefore hold the globe in the adjusted position. If it is subsequently desired to lower the globe the free end 39 of the chain will be given a sidewise movement so as to shift the wheel 30 laterally on its shaft 52 thereby freeing the ratchet 32 from the pawl 34 and permitting the globe to move slowly downward under control of the person holding the free end 39 of the chain. When the globe reaches a desired elevation the operator will shift the chain 39 in the opposite direction so as to permit the spring 5a to move the wheel 30 into the position shown in Fig. 5 so that the pawl 34 will engage the ratchet and hold the wheel in position. The pawl 34 is formed with a projection 33 which engages a stop pin 31 carried by the supporting bracket 28' so that when the wheel is shifted laterally the tooth-engaging end of the pawl will not be forced too far inwardly by the pawl actuating spring 29. The fixture is particularly useful in small apartments and dwellings having comparatively low ceilings. For example, it may be used as a lighting'fixture over a dining table in which case it is usual to have the globe normally located a few feet above the table top. However, when the table is moved about for cleaning there is insufficient head room and the globe can then very readily be adjusted by manipulating the chain as will be understood.

In the design shown the fitting 46 which carries the incandescent lamps 44 is suspended directly from the chain 38 so that the globe and the lamps are adjusted simul taneously, however, these lamps could be supported in any other suitable manner either from the globe or from a suitable bracket or spider secured to the globe.

While I have described with great particularity the details'of the embodiment of the invention herein illustrated, it is not to be construed that I am limited thereto, as various changes in arrangement and substitution of equivalents may be made without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

lVha-t I claim is:

1. A lighting fixture including a fixed pendant, an incandescent lamp, a globe for said lamp, chains carried by said pendantdirectly connected to said globe and adapted to support it in one position and a flexible member arranged to be manually operated to simultaneously adjust the position of said globe and lamp and relieve said chains of the weight thereof, and means carried by said pendant for locking said flexible member in any desired position of adjustment.

2. A lighting fixture including a pendant having a casing on the lower end thereof, a wheel within said casing and having a ratchet secured thereto, said wheel being slidable laterally on a shaft carried by said casing, a pawl co-operating with said ratchet, a spring normally holding said ratchet in position for engagement wit-h said pawl, a flexible member engaging said wheel and having radially extending branches at its lower end, a globe secured to said branches, and a lamp carried by said member below said branches.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

. PHILIP J. C-OUSINS. 

